Statement at the 52nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Adoption of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report of the Philippines
Delivered by Cristina Palabay, Karapatan
Thank you, Mr. President.
CIVICUS and Karapatan note the Philippine government’s engagement with the UPR process and the UN Joint Programme. While it has accepted recommendations during the review, we regret that there has been no substantial improvement on the state of civic and democratic space in country.
Government policies on the counterinsurgency and drug war have not been rescinded, resulting in continuing extrajudicial killings, including those of human rights defenders. Task forces or panels created to look into these have failed to investigate and successfully prosecute the perpetrators and senior officials who ordered the killings have not been held to account. The Joint Programme lacks the necessary accountability tools that can deliver justice.
Meanwhile, the persecution and criminalisation of defenders, journalists and dissenters continue, including the incitement of violence against them through red-tagging, villification and the use of the laws on terrorism and libel. A community doctor was recently designated arbitrarily as a “terrorist individual”, without evidence, and jeep drivers who went on strike have been red-tagged. The number of political prisoners have risen with many facing trumped up charges. Members of community organizations face intimidation and threats of arrests and abduction.
We call on the Philippine government to stop the persecution of defenders, journalists and dissenters, and to enact the Human Rights Defenders Protection Bill. We also reiterate our view that the laws on terrorism and libel violate the right to due process, free expression, press freedom and freedom of association, among other constitutional rights. We renew our call to the Council for an independent investigation into the cases of extrajudicial killings and other grave rights violations in the Philippines.
Thank you.
Civic space in the Philippines is rated as "Repressed" by the CIVICUS Monitor.
